Is one of your goals this year to improve your people skills? With so much human interaction gone digital in the last couple of years, it’s understandable that people may have digressed in the people skills department. Just like with a muscle, you can lose it if you don’t use it. Thankfully, it just takes some practice and putting yourself back into environments that will allow you to work on those skills to flourish and grow. Here are three tips to remember when building relationships with others:
“A person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”
We’ve all been guilty of being introduced to someone new and immediately forgetting their name. It happens to the best of us! But as you brush up on your people skills, make it a point to be intentional with retaining that critical piece of information when meeting someone new. We all enjoy hearing our name, but it’s even sweeter when someone we may not expect to remember our name does.
“If you want to gather honey, don’t kick over the beehive.”
Be mindful of how you speak to others, not just with your tone but also with your actual words. Whether it’s a long-time relationship or a more recent one, delivering feedback requires the proper tone, tact, and timing. It’s also important to remember everyone receives feedback differently. While some relationship dynamics benefit from constructive criticism, it’s also important to remember not to dish out feedback no one asked for!
“You can’t win an argument. If you lose it, you lose it; and if you win it, you lose it.”
Personalities are like fingerprints—we all have a unique one! With that, some personalities are more prone to debate and enjoy arguing. There’s nothing wrong with this if the other parties involved are on the same page and are enjoying themselves as well. However, it’s important to be mindful of your intentions when doing so. If you’re looking for intellectual conversation—great—if you’re looking to pick a fight based on emotions, it’s likely not to end well. If you lose it, you lose, but even if you win the fight, it was at the expense of the relationship.
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